Many methods and devices have been developed for dealing with insect pests. Many people are particularly interested in dealing with flying insects as they tend to be very visible, sometimes noisy and often possessing the capability to bite or sting. Traditional means for killing flying insects include devices such as fly swatters and their equivalent or chemical sprays. The former requires a certain skill and agility to be effective and the latter leaves a potentially harmful chemical residue in the area where used. The present invention addresses these concerns and also provides entertainment to those tasked with removal of insect pests in the form of a gun designed for shooting flying insects. In order to make the gun more effective as well as more entertaining, the present invention provides for rapid, semi-automatic fire requiring only repeated trigger pulls to affect a series of shots. The present invention also includes interchangeable magazines that can be quickly attached to the weapon. Other devices developed to eliminate flying insects or provide similar semi-automatic fire include the following inventions.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,251,051, issued to the present inventor, Patent is directed to a bug killing gun that includes a compressed gas source fluidly connected to a chamber connected to a barrel. A compressed gas release mechanism is connected to the compressed gas source. A projectile storage magazine stores particulate projectiles and is located adjacent the chamber. A projectile loading mechanism moves the projectiles into the chamber from the magazine. A cocking mechanism is mechanically connected to the compressed gas source, the compressed gas release mechanism, and the projectile loading mechanism. A stock houses and supports the compressed gas source, the compressed gas release mechanism, the barrel, the chamber, the projectile storage magazine, the cocking mechanism and the projectile loading mechanism. When the gun is cocked, the projectile loading mechanism loads a predetermined quantity of the particulate projectiles into the chamber. When the compressed gas release mechanism is activated the projectiles are ejected from the chamber into the barrel and expelled from the gun.
German Patent Application No. DE 102008006941, published for Mueller, is directed to a universal housing aperture for mounting an electronic component in a small arm. The aperture has a longitudinal slot provided in a wall, where the aperture is fully or partially changeable in cross section by extension of a shooting mechanism. A striking pin extends to a longitudinal slot in a clamped condition. A safety lever is rotatably supported in the housing and extends into the cross section of the aperture. The aperture is provided below a closing path and behind a region of an ammunition feeder of a weapon, and runs transverse to a longitudinal direction of the weapon.
Japanese Patent Application No. JP20010373568, published for Marco, is directed to a self-actuating firearm comprising a frame, a breechblock, a barrel provided with a bore, a cylinder which is associated with the barrel and forms an internal chamber which is connected to the bore of the barrel, by means of a gas tap, and a piston which is at least partially accommodated in the chamber and can be actuated by the gases that arrive from the bore upon firing. The piston floats with respect to the cylinder and the frame and comprises a portion which is external to the cylinder and is adapted to act with an impulsive action on the breechblock in order to re-cock the firearm upon firing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,745,755, issued to Piccini, is directed to a magazine of shots for repeating guns, in particular for compressed-air guns, which comprises at least two cylinders in series, front and rear, respectively, the front cylinder provided with N identical chambers for housing the shots and with a crown of N teeth intended to be engaged by a mechanism of rotation, the rear cylinder provided with N−1 chambers for housing the shots and with an aperture of smaller diameter intended to make possible the passage of the firing gas from the valve to the chamber of the front cylinder, which is aligned with the barrel from time to time. The front and rear cylinders are provided with complementary couplings, shaped to interact with one another for a contemporary rotation of the two cylinders only after the first N shots have been fired from the front cylinder.
Japanese Patent Application No. JP3064850U, is directed to a magazine for a toy gas-powered gun. The magazine is in the nature of a spring-loaded clip for a typical automatic pistol except that the “bullets” that are loaded in the clip are small round balls and have no powder charge or shell casings. This arrangement provides self-loading for semi-automatic-type fire capability.
Japanese Patent Application No. JP3055689U, is directed to a magazine for another toy gas-powered gun. The magazine is in the nature of a spring-loaded clip for a typical automatic pistol except that the “bullets” that are loaded in the clip are small round balls and have no powder charge or shell casings. This arrangement provides self-loading for semi-automatic-type fire capability.
Great Britain Patent Application No. GB2244121, published for Jones et al., is directed to an Air Gun with Rotary Magazine. The body of the air gun accommodates a removable magazine immediately behind the breech, for pellets to be loaded one at a time from the magazine into the breech. The magazine comprises a drum which is rotatably mounted within a housing and comprises ten pellet-holding slots around its axis. A torsion spring urges rotation of the drum in indexing steps as controlled by an escapement mechanism comprising a rocking paw. The paw is displaced against the action of a return spring by means of a plunger which projects from a cocking arm of a conventional cocking mechanism of the gun. The plunger is arranged to actuate the escapement only towards the end of a cocking stroke of the arm. A loading ram/air transfer tube is reciprocated, in effecting the cooking action, to withdraw from one slot in the drum and enter a next slot to load a fresh pellet into the breech.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,482, issued to Thai, is directed to a spring-powered toy gun that ejects small disks, of the type children collect, giving the ejected disks a spin to improve their flight. The disks are first loaded into a separate spring-operated magazine which is then inserted into an aperture on the gun. A transparent window in the gun allows a user to view the magazine's top disk and any insignia thereon. The top of the magazine bears two retaining members that hold the top disk in place. These retaining members are spaced apart from the magazine by the thickness of one disk and, thus, set the thickness of the disks that can be fired from the gun. The top disk is ejected from the gun by a planar propulsion lever driven by a main spring. Pulling back on a trigger moves the main spring and the propulsion lever away from a rest position. When the trigger is pulled fully, the main spring is automatically released and snaps forward causing the propulsion lever to move forward and strike the top disk propelling it from the gun. Because the tip of the propulsion member is angled, it strikes the disk off-center imparting a spin to the disk.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a device for killing flying insects. It is a further objective to provide such a device that uses non-toxic means for killing the insects. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide preloaded, sealed magazines containing the particulate matter used to kill the insects. It is yet a further objective to provide sealed magazines that are rapidly interchangeable, compact and self-contained. It is another objective to provide magazines that are capable of being reloaded by a reloading facility. It is still another objective to provide a magazine system that is entertaining to use and inexpensive to operate. Finally, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an insect killing device that is durable, inexpensive and simple for the user to master.
While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.